The Youth Minister was late...

The Youth Minister was running late this morning.  Oh, we had church as usual and the things that prevented his arrival at the normal time were almost unbelievable.   He lives outside of town and down a country road in the Texas Hill Country.  Anyone that has traveled the country roads in Texas knows to expect something called "cattle guards."   If you are driving normal speed and hit a cattle guard it can shake the fillings from your teeth.

For our readers who do not live in cattle country.  A cattle guard is placed in the road, where it intersects a property line, providing access to drive through the country without having to open gates.  The actual cattle guard is usually made of pipe, the width of the road, but the pipes are spaced so the cattle cannot cross into someone else's property. 

That's what caused the Youth Minister's late arrival.  He was on his way to church and there was a not-so-smart-cow that had tried to walk across the cattle guard and had one of her legs wedged between the pipes and could not get out.  While I do not profess to know the whole story, I did hear before help could be summoned, the cow decided she would get herself out but before long all four of her legs were stuck between the pipes.  Now if you have this vision in your mind, you will understand not only is the cow in distress, she is blocking the road!

I don't know the details of freeing the cow, and I am suspicious of parts of the story as it was told during church, but we were assured the cow was set free and the travelers on the country road could continue to their destination.   While I am assured the details here are correct, I cannot help but think there just has to be some "stretching" of this story, and those details are probably enhanced every time the story is told to someone else.

I wrote about this story today because it comes very close to describing the predicament of mankind.  Most of us are in possession of some measure of intelligence, yet we get ourselves so entangled in the cares and problems of this world, we get stuck.  Just like the cow with one leg in a cattle guard, we think we are strong enough and smart enough to get ourselves out, but the more we try and the more we struggle, we end up learning the truth that we are beyond getting unstuck by ourselves.   It's usually then we cry out to God to save us.  I, too, have prayed for God's deliverance from problems and difficulties, from pain and sickness, even from the messes I have made in life.  It's always God's love and his grace that brings freedom from whatever causes our distress. 

It's then I ask myself, "Why didn't I seek God's answer before I was completely entrapped like the cow, with all four legs stuck?"   God is always there, always concerned, and always willing to help us through every snare we encounter.   Ask him......he will provide.

"He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;  he hears their cry and saves them."  Psalm 145:19

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